Get ready for autumn with this pumpkin-inspired dish. Photos by Katie Habshey.

Fresh pear with roasted pumpkin and kabocha and butternut squash, topped with peppery watercress, drizzled with nutmeg vinaigrette, and sprinkled with crunchy, candied pumpkin seeds… Excuse us while we wipe the drool from our chins.

This delicious, pumpkin-inspired dish comes from the kitchen of Chef Aaron Wright and The Tavern at Lark Creek in Larkspur, California.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Time-saving tip: Purchase peeled, pre-cut squash and pumpkin.

Roasted Pumpkin and Kabocha and Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 kabocha squash

1 butternut squash

1 sugar pie pumpkin

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice

½ cup grape seed oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Peel squash and pumpkin. Cut each in quarters and remove seeds by using a spoon.

Place prepared pieces in bowl. Coat with oil and season with pumpkin spice and salt.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in a 350 degree oven until you can easily push a skewer through them. (About 45 minutes to an hour.)